One year after her serious incident with a horse, Princess Anne has bounced back and joined the Trooping the Colour procession on horseback
Princess Anne has been seen riding in public for the first time since a serious incident involving a horse that saw her rushed to hospital with concussion. Last year, the Princess Royal was involved in an accident with a horse that resulted in her being left battered and bruised.
But today to celebrate King Charles ’ birthday at Trooping the Colour, Anne joined the parade on horseback for another year. Wearing the traditional Blues and Royals mounted uniform in her role as gold stick in waiting, she was was joined on horseback by Prince Edward and Prince William. Anne’s steed for the day was Noble, a horse that she rode in the parade last year, who earned a reputation for being ‘naughty’ after Charles had to control her at Trooping in 2023.
Charles’ official birthday was marked with a display of military pomp and pageantry but at the King’s request the event acknowledged the aviation disaster that claimed the lives of 241 passengers and crew, including more than 50 British nationals, as well as around 30 people on the ground.
The Royal Procession was accompanied by the Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and the sounds of the Band of the Household Cavalry, led by two shire drum horses bearing solid silver kettle drums.
Senior officers taking part in Trooping also wore black armbands as a mark of respect for the aviation victims, as did the coachmen and women from the Royal Mews, driving carriages carrying members of the royal family or riding on a coach’s lead horse as a postilion.
A minute’s silence will be observed after the King has inspected the guardsmen on the parade ground. It will be signalled by a bugler sounding the Last Post and will end with the Reveille.
Anne’s return to her beloved horse comes one year after she suffered serious injuries, including bruises and a concussion, as the result of a horse .
King Charles’ sister had set out alone and on foot to feed her chickens on her Gatcombe estate in Gloucestershire before becoming involved in an incident, where she is believed to have been struck from behind by a horse.
The Princess was rushed to hospital by ambulance and was treated as an in-patient before being discharged several days later to convalesce at home. At the time Buckingham Palace said she had been admitted “as a precautionary measure for observation”, but the princess later revealed the true horror of the accident.
When Princess Anne returned to Southmead Hospital in Bristol where she was treated for her injuries, she told hospital staff that it was “useful” to meet them as she was still unable to recall what happened.
“You’ve been filling in the blanks, which partly, from my perspective, is really useful to know how it happened, because I seriously don’t have any idea, and sadly, I don’t have huge memories of being in here either,” she said.